We had a good sharing session at the SMART EXPO that was held on the 8-9 September 2012.

In my sharing session, I shared that while there are still some pockets of opportunities for investors in the Singapore market, there are more risks now than before due to the soaring prices despite cooling measures. The worrying part is when I hear many people saying that Singapore market ‘wu ki bo lok’ meaning ‘will only go and and never come down’. That is a wrong perception as those whom have been through several property cycles will know that. We are subjected to global economic performances. We are not immune to global weather storms. The economic data in US, Europe, China, Japan are not favorable. The ‘panadol’ effect of holding the prices up for a while, with the Quantitative Easing 3 should provide some form of price support but for how long, no one knows.

Those whom have been through several property cycles will know that it is possible to lose money too. As the cooling measures are being administered to the residential properties, we are seeing a flurry of investors going into the commercial and industrial sector and therefore driving up prices. When you see the market moving from speculating and investing in residential sector and moving more toward the commercial and industrial sector, that usually mean the tailend of rapid growth in prices in almost all sectors.

Why not explore the overseas property sectors. It would be important to be educated about the overseas market and beware of several marketeers out the selling overseas properties at marked up prices. Do not go in blindly. If you are getting into overseas investments, due diligence is crucial. You need to study into the track record of the developers. We even check if the developers have legal suits against them before investing. One of the overseas developers selling properties in Singapore has several civil and even criminal suit against them and yet many Singaporeans are investing in them. That is chilling! We would steer clear of such developers no matter how good a deal it seem to be. That’s the reason why I formed an investor network through our Property Riches Program to research on deals and also conduct due diligence checks before sharing.

So, what should an investor do. Be aware that there are indeed good deals but there are also some deals that are sugar-coated toxic pill.

Keep an open mind and open eyes to overseas property sector. I have found very good deals with good upside gains and also good yields. Will share some of these deals on my blog soon.

So, remember, there are property cycles and property prices do not just move in one direction, even though it seem to be the case for Singapore market since 2009. Keep an open mind to other opportunities that offer better upside gains and yields out of Singapore. Do your due diligence and understand the legal, financing framework and tax structure before investing. Good luck!

Fellow investors…Beware! Buyers’ remorse are getting more apparent. We are seeing larger number of people than usual walking away from their Options To Purchase, thereby foregoing part of their deposits. 185 units foregone in May and 111 in June 2012. URA stats show that 6762 units that were launched were unsold in 2nd Quarter this year. With the facts of more supplies coming to fruition in the residential sector, including HDB, Exec Condos, Private residential units, I’ll be steering clear from the residential sector for the time being, even as property prices are still hitting new highs. I reckon that 2013 and 2014 would present better time for cherry picking good deals in the this sector (across various sectors fm mid to higher end). I could be wrong but then, who knows, I could be right too! We shall see..